For a final episode (of the first series), Aria the Animation finishes in a lovely and soothing fashion. There were a few times I was afraid things were going to go overboard (namely the cat scene), everything fit nicely into place.

If Aria: The Animation were a novel, it would be difficult to fit in an interlude with the pasts of Alicia, Akira, and Athena. It would disrupt the flow of the story. The same goal as it pertains to the current Singles could be reached without flashing back in time. It’s funny how a series such as this can take something that would be unnecessary, out-of-place, excessive in a novel, and turn the whole conception upside-down into a worthwhile inclusion.

There are times when I wonder what the draw on an episode such as this one is. It’s very enjoyable. It’s a day in the life of characters. There’s a goal for the characters which is what keeps them going from day to day, but that all fades into the background in this kind of episode.